The Answer Was YES
I awoke last night, stars tapping at the sheets
and asked God, if it was okay to be frightened —
to know less as a grown up than I did at seven
and was so sure everyone who drove or could
type fast was good in her eyes.
I asked her if it was okay to be tall or to not have
children, for I had seen too much pain to believe
I could ever save anyone that small.
The cover of night brought courage,
so I queried on, "is it okay that I read to my dog
or would rather follow a leaf down the river,
than sit in a Church?"
In silence was YES, a YES in the stars,
a YES tapping at the sheets,
a YES in God's quirky code.
Inspired by the poem God Says Yes to Me, by Kaylin Haught
On Turning 41
Last week, I hopped over the border
the birthday women are supposed to dread
with another year under my belt.
It's nothing as I expected; to the dreamy teen —
"you were wrong!" I can dutifully file my taxes
and still draw chalk figures at noon.
Dreams do whittle down, but like a sculptor
years get us closer to revealing a form.
Dancing back and picking up pieces, there were
clues all along.
When we can no longer count our age on fingers
and toes (and we're not good at math),
why bother?
Inspired by the poem On Turning 10, by Billy Collins
